Martin Truex, Jr. continued his mighty march to Miami with his 7th victory of the season Sunday at Kansas Speedway, putting an exclamation mark on the 2nd round of the playoffs with two wins in the last three weeks. He’s among the eight drivers who advance to the semifinal round that opens next weekend at Martinsville Speedway, but the only one with a stat sheet that makes him a near-certainty to qualify for The Championship Four next month at Homestead-Miami Speedway. With the playoff bonus points Truex has banked this season, he’s already 52 above the cutoff that determines the four title contenders who’ll race for a championship, before a single wheel has been turned in the semifinals!
Truex started Sunday’s race from the pole and led twice for 91 laps, including the final 57 trips around the mile-and-a-half Kansas City oval. His margin of victory over runner-up Kyle Busch was 2.2 seconds with Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin completing the top five.
Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 was an elimination race with four playoff participants dropped from title contention. Kyle Larson was sidelined by engine failure and finished 39th. Matt Kenseth was disqualified for having too many men over the wall working on his car during a pit stop under caution, a rule he said he was unaware of. Kenseth placed 37th. Accidents sidelined Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and Jamie McMurray, saddling them with finishes of 29th and 34th, respectively.
[button style=”btn-primary btn-lg” icon=”fa fa-flag-checkered” align=”left” type=”link” target=”true” title=”mrn.com Race Center” link=”http://www.mrn.com/Race-Series/NASCAR-Sprint-Cup/News/Articles/2017/10/Martin-Truex-Jr-Wins-Hollywood-Casino-400-at-Kansas-Speedway.aspx”]
– story by John Singler
www.mrn.com
Concord, North Carolina
1. Martin Truex, Jr.
2. Kyle Busch (-27)
3. Brad Keselowski (-43)
4. Kevin Harvick (-52)
5. Jimmie Johnson (-52)
For the complete driver standings in the Playoffs, please visit the official page on nascar.com.
Drivers eliminated after Round 2: Kyle Larson, Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray, and Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
Drivers eliminated after Round 1: Ryan Newman, Austin Dillon, Kasey Kahne and Kurt Busch
